Sep 30, 2011

Alternative 5 is the cleanup alternative that is most effective and protective of human health and the environment. It is the only alternative that removes the long-term risk posed by the 4825 Glenbrook Road site by excavating the property (Areas A, B, D, E and F), including the area beneath the house (Area E), to competent saprolite or bedrock; Alternative 5 provides the best long-term solution for minimizing future risk at the site.

… Area A will address any potential World War I related materials that may remain behind the retaining wall in the backyard of the property. If AUES related items, such as munitions and laboratory glassware, are found in Area A, the Army will continue excavating behind the retaining wall until the AUES related waste has been identified and removed.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Proposed Plan for 4825 Glenbrook RoadSeptember 30, 2011

Historical Sampling at 4825 Glenbrook Road

AU does not consider any remedial alternative other than "Alternative 5, Removing the House and cleaning up to Residential standards with Unrestricted Future Use,” to be acceptable.... AU has commented repeatedly regarding the arsenic cleanup level of 20 mg/kg and has been repeatedly ignored. While 20 mg/kg may be appropriate as an action level or screening level, it is not appropriate as remedial goal especially at a site where there are so many chemical and toxicological uncertainties in the assessment of the nature and extent of contamination. Even a rough calculation reveals that the residual lifetime cancer riskassociated with residential exposure to 20 mg/kg exceeds 5:100,000.American University Comments on Feasibility Study: 4825 Glenbrook RoadSeptember 26, 2011

Sep 18, 2011

"While Alternative 5 is the most expensive, it was ranked as favorable in five out of six of the nine criteria that were ranked [above] ... The new figure [below] visually depicts Alternative 5 and highlights the areas that we would excavate. Areas A, B, D, E and F are all the areas that we would excavate to bedrock or competent saprolite under Alternative 5."Brenda Barber, Project ManagerRAB MeetingSeptember 13, 2011

Sep 11, 2011

In response to a question from commissioner Kent Slowinski following her presentation at the September 9th Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3-D meeting, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager Brenda Barber acknowledged that a ten-year-old videotape transcript, of an interview with construction workers who helped build the house at 4825 Glenbrook Road in 1992, is in the Army's possession.

SLOWINSKI (33:12): Have you talked to the construction workers who built the house, many of whom suffered exposure to chemical warfare agent? ... There's a videotaped interview where the construction workers were sitting around a site planof the property and they pointed to areason the property where they said they found munitions or bottles filled with chemicals. They even went on to say, "You can find more munitions behind this wall."

[DC Department of Health environmental scientist] Richard Albright investigated further and found that five workers building 4825 Glenbrook Road had fled the site in May 1992 when fumes from broken lab glassware and contaminated soil caused pain in their eyes and lungs. Suffering from eye pain and burning skin, some of the workers went to a hospital emergency room. It was beginning to look as if both [AU President Benjamin] Ladner's house [at 4835] and 4825 Glenbrook had been built on top of a laboratory-waste dump.Harry JaffeThe WashingtonianDecember 1, 2000